Death of US Navajo code talker - 28th October 2024

At 107 years old, John Kinsel Sr was one of the last Navajo Code Talkers alive. Along with 400 other Navajo men, he had been recruited by the US Marines to provide secret military communication during World War Two.

Navajo, which is a Native American language from the Southwest of North America, is very complex. Its sounds and grammar require special training and it has no written form. This made it ideal for developing a secret code.

Philip Johnston, who had grown up with the Navajo people, realised its potential. He suggested it to the US Navy, and the US Marines asked Johnson to run a trial. They then recruited 29 Navajo men who developed the first Navajo code.

211 common military terms were given Navajo translations. These included the Navajo words "iron fish" for submarines and "hummingbird" for a fighter plane. Other English words were spelled out using a new Navajo code for each letter of the alphabet.

Navajo code messages seemed completely random but could deliver critical information securely. After this successful test, the US Marines trained 400 Navajo men as Code Talkers, who used their language to communicate across the Pacific. Although the Japanese military were experts at breaking codes, they never understood these messages.

The Navajo Code remained secret for many years and was only made public in 1968. In 1982, President Reagan created Navajo Code Talkers Day to celebrate their achievement. Kinsel's death leaves only two World War II Navajo Code Talkers still living. However, their stories live on at a special exhibit in the Pentagon.